Galavanting Around Gallup, New Mexico

Hi Blog! Today is Monday, October 19, 2015. After our long day of driving yesterday, we decided to stay close to the RV park today. We drove all of four miles into downtown Gallup to learn a little about the area we are currently staying.

Our first stop was the Gallup Cultural Center.  In 1996 the City of Gallup asked the Southwest Indian Foundation to take possession of the historic and newly renovated Sante Fe Depot. The City asked the Foundation to turn the building into a Cultural Center. The Cultural Center is modeled on a Public Square, where the community, school children, and visitors can gather together for forums, lectures, and celebrate the extraordinarily diverse heritages of this region.

Outside the Cultural Center stands a statue of Chief Manuelito. Manuelito was a prominent Navajo leader who rallied his nation against the oppression of the United States military. For several years, he led a group of warriors in resisting federal efforts to forcibly remove the Navajo people to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico via the Long Walk in 1864. After being relocated to Bosque Redondo, Manuelito was among the leaders who signed the 1868 treaty, ending a period of imprisonment in United States government internment camps and establishing a reservation for the Navajo.

The Gallup Cultural Center displays various pierces of Native American art, some of which include pottery by Lawrence Namoki, a famous Hopi potter, and a history of the Dine mural on a buffalo hide by Walter Begay and a basket by Lorraine Black inspired by the 2002 olympics. We really like the various painting on this horse statue. There were also a number of pieces of art by local students.

There were a number of displays on the history of Gallup including the timber and coal mining in the region. The city of Gallup was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The city was named after David Gallup, a paymaster for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Workers were often heard saying, "I'm going to Gallup," or the location where the paymaster set up his tent. The name stuck. Gallup is sometimes called the "Indian Capital of the World," for its location in the heart of Native American lands, and the presence of Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, and other tribes. One third of the city's population has Native American roots. There were a number of displays on the art and craft of local native peoples. Behind the rug loom is a display on the local plants and minerals that colored the wool used in the these rugs.

One of the most interesting display was on sandpainting. The Navajo Medicine Man paints loosely upon the ground of a hogan, where the ceremony takes place, by letting the colored sands flow through his fingers with control and skill. There are 600 to 1,000 different traditional designs for sandpaintings known to the Navajo. They do not view the paintings as static objects, but as spiritual, living beings to be treated with great respect. More than 30 different sandpaintings may be associated with one ceremony.

Gallup's economy is driven by their trade and servicing of the surrounding Indian communities. One of the oldest trading posts is Richard's Trading Co. established in 1913. Over the years, their business had expanded to neighboring store fronts.

As soon as we walked in the door, we were overwhelmed with the amount of merchandise they have accumulated over the years. Many of the items were pawned and never reclaimed. There were several collections of Indian artifact on display, but just about everything else in the store was for sale including bows and arrows, stuffed animals, saddles, jewelry and rugs.

Just across the street was the Gallup Historical Society. Gallup has a long association with the mining and railroad industries, although tourism has been most significant to the local economy in recent times due to Historic Route 66 running right through downtown. In addition to a number of Route 66 displays, we really liked this 1952 New Mexico Recreation Map - "The Land of Enchantment."

Due to its proximity to Monument Valley and other favorite Western settings for Hollywood’s movie kings, Gallup’s El Rancho Hotel has played host to many legendary film stars such as John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, and Ronald Reagan. The docent of the history museum suggested we walk down and have lunch at El Rancho.

The seven block walk turnied into about a mile, but it was worth it. The hotel is a real throwback. It reminded us of the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. We wandered around the second floor of the lobby admiring all the autographed photos they have collected over the years.

All the dishes on the menu in the restaurant are named after celebrities that have stayed at the hotel. We shared a Richard Montalban - sampler plate of tamale, enchilada, taco and tostado. We washed this down with our new favorite non-alcoholic beverage - Navajo Tea!

Gallup boasts 12 outdoor murals depicting local culture and history.  After lunch, was walked back into downtown Gallup to search for all the murals. On the way, we passed a really cool dirt bike park. What a great use of open space.  The park combines challenging dirt bike trails with hiking and multi-use trails in a green space that also functions as stormwater retention in the case of floods.  Below, a lone biker takes on the park's challenges:

Still heading toward the murals, we made a quick stop at the eponymously named "Coffee" coffee shop, where we purchased (you guessed it) coffee. The new owners are excited to have their new coffee roaster up and running. Right now, the owner is still small batch roasting at home. We almost felt guilty depleting his stock of home roasted beans until we smelled how wonderful they were and quickly left the store in case he had seller's remorse.

Now to the murals.  In 2000, various local artists were commissioned to retell Gallup's story through a series of murals on downtown buildings. Each mural is unique in style and captures the dynamic heritage and history of Gallup. The first one we encountered depicted the Navajo Code Talkers. Located on 2nd street between Coal Ave and Hwy. 66, artist Be Sargent gives honor to those Navajos who served the military as Code Talkers during World War II.

Here is the Gallup Community Life Mural. Located on the East-facing wall of City Hall, artist Rick Sarracino shows some elements that have helped shape community life throughout Gallup’s history. Elements include the public library, schools, coal mining and the arts.

The Coal Mining Era Mural is located in the downtown alley behind the American Bar on Coal Ave, artist Andrew Butler captures a piece of Gallup’s wild west history when he depicts the mob coal miner conflict when the sheriff was shot with his own gun. This event happened in the very alley this mural is painted. The colors in this mural were very striking.

Ceremonial Mural is located on the Ceremonial Building on Coal Ave. between 2nd & 3rd Street, artist Irving Bahe uses the Navajo Beauty way concept to depict the unity and life that the Gallup Inter- Tribal Ceremonial brings.

Rick Sarracino, a local artist, created the mural depicting the rich Hispanic heritage of Gallup.

We were excited to have located most of the murals.  We had been so preoccupied with finding them, that, when we looked up, we realized we had arrived right back where our truck was parked.  It was an easy 4-mile drive home, where we enjoyed one of the crowlers of Three River Brewery beer that we bought yesterday on our drive home from Chaco Culture National Historic Park.

We have a couple more days in the Gallup area and we are hoping to get out and about and enjoy some of its natural beauty.